Eveready Industries has posted a three-fold increase in net profit in the first quarter of the year, backed by a sharp drop in raw material prices, better product mix and stringent cost control.

The storage cell battery maker recorded a profit of Rs 23.61 crore in April-June of 2020-21 compared with Rs 6.85 crore earned in the same period last year even as the operating income went down 18 per cent to Rs 263.45 crore from Rs 321.04 crore on a like-to-like basis.

Battery and flashlight, the mainstay of Eveready’s business, did well in the month of May and June where volumes were higher by 12 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, over the same period last year.

“We have been able to contain cost and also sell premium category products (in battery) with higher margins. The results were achieved despite April being a washout,” Amritanshu Khaitan, managing director of Eveready, said.

A higher demand for batteries was accounted by two factors —depleted inventory in the distribution chain because of the prolonged lockdown in the economy and a continuous fall of cheap Chinese import.

CESC result

The first-quarter profit of power producer CESC dipped 13.4 per cent to Rs 200 crore from Rs 231 crore in the same period last year. Total income went down 24.3 per cent to Rs 2,465 crore from Rs 3,257 crore a year ago as the company faced problems in tariff collection from consumers during the lockdown period.